I Love You Because
by BiOfTheTiger
Summary: Castiel Novak lived a perfectly normal life for a nerd- studying instead of partying, being teacher's pet, getting bullied after school. But he was used to it- heck, he even LIKED the constancy it brought. But all that changed when a tornado named Deanna Winchester blew into town and messed it all up.
1. Chapter 1

I Love You Because

Chapter 1

"Aw, come ON Cas! Quit being a cube! Hester's having the best bash of the year at her place!" Anna complained as she tried dragging her brother out of his room.

"Anna, please. I need to study. I've got a history test tomorrow."

"Alright, your loss Cas. You can just sit here, being an odd-ball in Nowheresville, playing your sad music while I'm off finding a dog," Anna said as she closed the door to Cas' room.

Castiel got up and went over to his record player, putting on one of his favorites."Maybe I, didn't treat you.." Elvis sang as Castiel went over to his bed with his history book and opened it. As the records stopped playing, Cas would get up and change them, and sing along occasionally. But one can only study for so long, and about 10 record changes in, he ended up falling asleep on his stomach, his glasses hanging off his nose. And about 20 minutes later, Anna came rushing through the door, screeching, "Castiel! Wake up, you bum!"

"Hm? Wha'?" Cas muttered as he jolted awake.

"Oooh, Cas, you shoulda been there! "

"I know that you want to tell me, so just do it."

"Well, the start of the party was a bust, playin' real cheap music and all that. But then this fuzzy duck showed up in her very own machine, and she busted through the door, no invite or nothing, and she just demanded a drink! So then Hester-since it was at her pad, ya know- Hester went over to her and told her to leave, because apparently Hester knew her. And do you know what the girl did? She pounded Hester right in the nose!" Anna squealed. Castiel rolled her eyes. His sister loved gossip.

"Do you know her name?"

"Oh, yeah. Deanna Winchester. Oh, Cas, she showed up in this awful leather jacket,and boots, and pants! Like the greasers wear! Oh, they were grody! I got the scoop on her, but then the heat showed up, so we scattered."

"The police were there?"

"Oh yeah! But I'll clue you about that Winchester doll first. So from what I heard, she's coming to Trumple High tomorrow. She's a junior, like you. She has an ankle-biter brother back in junior high. His name's Sam. But that's not important. Her father is a real drunk, abuses the kids and all that. And Deanna...she gets around. But with GIRLS!"

Cas' eyes went wide. "Oh."

"Mm-hm. Well, I'm wiped. Night, Castiel."

"Good night, Anna. Hey, where is Gabriel?"

"Oh, Gabe was at the party. He went home with a little cat who was there."

"Naturally."

Anna nodded and then closed the door. Castiel tried to study more, but his eyelids felt so heavy that he couldn't keep looking at the book. So he put it away, took off his glasses, and went to sleep.

Mr. Ridell was handing out the History test when a girl threw open the classroom door and calmly walked in. She paused at the front of the classroom, everyone gaping at her. She was wearing such boyish clothes, after all. A black tee shirt, blue-jeans rolled up to her ankles, brown boots, and a worn brown leather jacket. Her short, sandy-blonde hair had a bandanna around it. She looked around the class, still standing up at the front.

"...Am I late?"

Mr. Ridell sighed. "Yes. You are, in fact, by 23 minutes. What is your name, young lady?"

She chomped on her chewing gum. "What do you want it to be?"

"Name!"

She sighed. "Deanna Winchester. Friends call me Dee. You know, if I had friends."

"Sit down, Miss Winchester, before I give you a detention!"

"Don't you want me to introduce myself and all that jazz?"

"...Fine. Go ahead."

She smirked. "Hello, fellow peers- cats, daddy-os, and everything in between. My name is Deanna Winchester. I'm sure you've heard at me, since you were all at that little fream Hester's party, so you know some, but I'll clue you in on some other stuff. I'm an Aquarius, I like motorcycles, slurgs, and frisky women."

"That's it! Detention, Miss Winchester! Maybe an hour in the principal's office after school will teach you not to be such a little show off. That seat next to Mr. Novak is free."

"Yeah, detention! I can dig detention!" She said as she walked over to the seat right next to Cas and plopped down in it. Castiel looked at at her and knew she was trouble, someone who was just cruisin' for a bruisin'. He huffed and glared at her when she put her feet up on the desk as Mr. Ridell started talking. He looked over at her and stopped mid-sentence.

"Miss Winchester, we do not allow feet on furniture here at Trumple High. You are supposed to be taking notes."

She shrugged. "I don't got a pencil, Big Daddy."

"Maybe you should bring one then. Mr. Novak, please lend her a pencil. And, Miss Winchester, get your feet off of the desk! And start acting like a proper young lady!"

Castiel had taken off his glasses to clean them after putting a pencil on the desk but he froze to watch what Deanna would do, just like everyone else in class.

She scoffed. "Lay dead. You want me to act like these hipsters?"

She took off her bandanna and tied around her neck, and grabbed Castiel's glasses off the desk and slid them on. Fanning herself, she said, "Oh, Mr. Ridell! Please, oh please, tell me more about the civil war! I am just FASCINATED!" She yanked the glasses off and set them back in their place."Please! I'm not one of these good for nothing phonies and I never will be! So you can just shut your-"

"That is enough! You may go to the principal's office now!"

She took the bandanna from around her neck with a flick and walked out, waving it around.

"Later, gators! Glad I could be of service."

And then she left the room.

"What a menace!" Mr. Ridell muttered. "Now, back to President Lincoln!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Aren't you supposed to be in the office?"

She chuckled. "Are you writin' a book? Focus, Clyde. Room 103."

"Uh, it's just down that hall," Castiel said as the bell rang.

"Thanks. Castiel," Deanna said with a smirk, turning around to walk away. Just as she did that, James and his cronies came up to Cas' locker.

"Mr. Novak?" Mr. Ridell said from his desk. "Will you take this up to the office for me? And since there's only 10 minutes of class left, you can take your things with you."

Castiel stood up, putting his messenger bag on his shoulder and walking up to the front of class to get the paperwork from the teacher. "Thank you, Mr. Ridell."

"Of course. Oh, and while you're there, please make sure Miss Winchester made her way to the office."

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you, Castiel," his teacher said with a wink as Castiel left the classroom.

He had to walk past his locker to get to the office, so he decided to switch out his books then to save time. He turned the dial around to put in his combination, but it seemed to be stuck. All three times he tried it it did the same thing. He made a frustrated noise and furrowed his brow.

"Need help, bundie? Trying to get a ballad in there?" Came a voice from his right. He looked over and there was Deanna, taking a long drag from her cigarette. She blew smoke up into the air and looked at Castiel. "Well? Need help, or were you just puttin' on a bit? Huh, hepper?"

Castiel ground his teeth, making sure no one could see him talking to this strange girl. "My name is Castiel. And no, I don't need your help, closet case."

Deanna took another drag from her cigarette. "Look who's talkin'. You weren't even at that party. Hell, even Hester was there!"

Castiel looked at her. "That party was at her pad."

She rolled her eyes. "I know that. But I also know Hester, and I'm awful surprised. Whatever. Can you direct me towards room 103? I think that's my next class..." She threw her cigarette on the ground and stomped it out, pulling a crumpled paper from her pocket. She nodded. "Mm-hm. 103. Says right there."

"Hey, nerd. Do ya got the answers to that, uh..chemicry test later for Caiouki's class?" James demanded. Castiel kept silent, finally getting his locker open and putting his history book inside.

"Huh? Do ya, germ?"

"I'm not going to help you cheat, James, just so you can keep your status as a bull."

James pushed Castiel up against his locker. "Where are your notes, Novak, huh?"

Castiel kept quiet again.

"That's it, punk!" James reared his hand back to take a swing, but then a hand came from his right and decked him right in the eye. He let go of Castiel, who looked over at the punch-thrower.

It was Deanna. "What the hell are you doin', ya hub cap?"

James stared at her with wide eyes. "You freakin' punched me!"

"Yeah. And I'll do it again, if you don't leave this kid alone. Scram, ya good for nothin' dumbass!"

James got close to Deanna's face and hissed, "You listen here, ya little homo-"

He didn't get to finish. Deanna punched him in the eye and jumped on him, bringing them to the ground. She punched him over and over and over again. "Don't- you- ever- call-me- that- again! You don't know me!"

That was when a teacher cane running out of her classroom. "Hey! Get off of him young man!"

Deanna looked at her, green eyes piercing with rage. "What did you just say, moldy?"

"Principal's office, now Missy!"

Deanna stood up and ran a hand through her hair. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, even with all the people. Even so, she looked straight at Cas and said, "Need my help now, Novak?"

She spit at James and then let the teacher lead her off to the office.

Castiel typed away at the typewriter next to the principal's office. He was typing up a notice for James' parents when he heard someone fling themselves onto a chair next to the trophy rack. He glances around the writer and surprise, surprise- it was Deanna.

She looked at him and grinned. "Hey, Castiel! I didn't know you were here."

He ignored her and went back to typing.

"I said hi, doofus."

He continued ignoring her.

She came over to him and got real close. "You know, Castiel, I have a job I need to be at. I have to support three people nearly alone. I had to ask my neighbor to pick up my kid brother because I couldn't do it. You want to know why? Because I'm here. Because of you. So the least you could do is say hi to me. And a thank you would also be appreciated," she whispered, sinking back into her seat.

He looked at her, wide-eyed. "I didn't know- I- I'm sorry."

She laughed, a cold, bitter laugh. "You say you didn't know. That's awful funny, Castiel. I thought you people knew everything about me?"

He gulped. "I didn't-"

"Say that? Yeah, I know. Whatever. Just don't expect me to do anything like that again."

He nodded and went back to typing.

"So, whatcha doin'?"

He sighed. "Writing a notice to James' parents."

She squinted. "And who exactly is James?"

"You..you pounded him today."

"Oh. Was that that nosebleed's name?"

Cas nodded.

"Hm. Good to know." She paused. "Is anyone else here?"

He shook his head.

"Awesome. I've been cravin' a smoke since third period."

She sat there, smoking for a good half-hour. She blew rings and swirled up the smoke and all kinds of tricks. Finally, she got bored and stomped it out with her boot. Deanna looked at the clock.

"Would you rat me out if I left?"

"...no."

"Good. Before I go, I have a few questions though. First off, why are you here?"

"I'm an assistant in the office after school. My brother is captain of the football team, so I wait for him here."

"Mm. Also, can you take off your peepers a minute? I want to see your eyes."

He raised an eyebrow but did it anyway. She put her face two inches away from his and looked in his eyes for a minute before pulling away.

"Alright. Finally, you're interesting. I want to know more about you. Meet me at High Mountain Park at 7 tonight." She put her hands in her pockets and started walking out the door. "See you tonight, Cassie boy."


	3. Chapter 3

Castiel sighed as he put his messenger bag on his bed. He was contemplating going to the park that night. Did the crazy new girl at school ask him on a date? Or was she not gonna show up and leave him waiting on a bench, looking awkward? He looked at his watch. 6:30. And he had already finished his homework... He sighed again, getting his trench coat from the closet, and then walking out his door.

"Wow, you're actually here. I thought you wouldn't show, me bein' a goof."

Castiel clenched his jaw. "So why am I here?"

She hopped down from the tree she was sitting in and walked over to him, touching his shoulder. "Because you're the only person brave enough to talk to me." They stared at each other for a moment, and then Cas looked down and shook her hand away.

"You know, Novak, we could be good friends, if you was up for that."

He rolled his eyes. "Were. If you WERE up for that."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, ya nerd. So tell me 'bout yourself."

"Why? Are you writing a book or something?"

Deanna snorted. "Castiel, you can't say that. I already said that today." She paused. "Well, I came to hang with you. I had to sneak away from the boss to do it. So tell me about yourself, Cas."

He sighed again. Always the pity. "Well, I live in a house with my younger sister, Anna, and my three older brothers, Gabriel, Michael, and Luke. My father too, sometimes. He goes on a lot of trips. He has...he has another family. But my siblings and I are old enough, so he figures we can look after ourselves for periods. He sends us dough occasionally."

She cut him off with a snort. "'Occasionally.' So formal, Castiel. Lighten up. It's just me here. And I don't bite unless they ask for it." She winked at him and he scoffed.

"You know, for all this sex you claim you have, you don't have many people following you around and begging for it."

She hesitated and then said, "I'm workin' on it."

He lifted an eyebrow, wondering what that meant. And then he realized she meant HIM. He scowled. "I'm not a..a sex toy, Deanna! I'm saving myself for someone special! And that certainly isn't you!"

She stared at him again, her green eyes studying his blue ones very carefully. "You have cool eyes."

He was taken aback by that statement. "I- Thank you. But that doesn't change what I was saying. I-"

"I know you're not a sex toy, like you said. Get over yourself, Clyde, I wasn't talkin' ' bout you."

"Why am I even having this conversation with you?"

"You tell me, Cassie. You met me here on your own thoughts."

"Stop calling me that! My name is Castiel!"

Deanna groaned. "Ugh. Castiel. Such a mouthful. You're too anti-frantic. You don't like Cassie, Castiel is too long...Cas. Your name is Cas now."

He rolled his eyes. "Okay. I think I'm going to go before the conversation moves to sex again.." He turned to walk away, but Deanna caught up with him and started walking in front of him, turned around to face him.

"You just got here Cas!"

"And now I'm leaving."

"Well, what'd I do?"

He stopped. "You're an oddball! That's what! You're not cool!"

She suddenly looked..sad? "Oh, because you're so cool yourself? You almost got beat up today, until I came and saved you. You're such a fream! You know, Castiel, all I wanted was a friend, and I thought since I saved your ass today, you'd at least pity me. Ain't that a bite? Drop dead twice."

She turned and ran away, leaving Castiel baffled as to why he had just argued with HER. It was almost like they were..friends or something.

"Don't talk crazy. You've known her for a day. And she's insane," he muttered to himself. He stuck his hands in his pockets and felt a piece of paper in one of them. He pulled it out and saw it was folded into a square, with "Castiel" written neatly on the front. He opened it and saw a flawlessly drawn portrait of himself. The small note next to it said. "This was why I wanted to see your eyes. I like drawing interesting people."

Wide-eyed, he folded the paper back up and put it in his pocket once more. When had she done that? It must have been when she was staring at him...the first time. He suddenly felt guilty. What had she done to deserve that scene back there? She was only nice to him...

His whole walk home, all that ran through his mind was Deanna.


	4. Chapter 4

A few weeks after the park fiasco, it was time for a big football game. The Trumple Tigers against their big rivals, the Dursley Dingos. And Castiel, being the captain's little brother, was forced to go. He and Gabriel sat down a few minutes after kickoff. Castiel watched his brother fly across the field, football in hand, and score a touch down. Everyone in the stadium went wild- except Gabriel. He was staring at a girl with wavy caramel hair two rows down

"Gabe, quit it. Michael just scored a touch down," Castiel reprimanded.

The girl turned around and Gabe winked. She giggled. "He's not the only one," Gabe said, standing up and going over to her.

Castiel sighed and shook his head at his brother. He opened his water and continued ti watch the game, which was pretty boring until half-time.

From behind Cas, a very familiar, very angry voice said, "Hey! Watch it handsy! This ain't your ass to be touchin'!"

Cas turned around to see Deanna scowling at a guy from Dursley five rows up.

"No, but it could be Classy Chassis," he said with a wink.

She scoffed. "I don't come cheap, Clyde. And I don't sell to guys like you." She glanced at Cas. "I'm not a sex toy. And I don't like it when people are treated like it."

She turned on her heel and stomped down the steps towards the bathrooms. They guy laughed with his friends and then followed her. Cas narrowed his eyes and, in turn, followed the creep. He was about to tap him on the shoulder and tell him to cut it out when a girl bumped into him, dropping her cola onto the floor and all over her shirt.

"Oh, gosh, I am so sorry," Cas said, handing her the handkerchief he used to clean his glasses.

She humphed, dabbing at her sweater. "You spilled my Cola. You pay for it."

Grumbling at the fact that he lost Deanna and her stalker, he pulled his wallet from his pocket and gave her 50¢. She humphed again and walked off. Suddenly panicking, Cas glanced around near the bathrooms and saw a shadow move from under the bleachers. He ran down the steps to it and heard Deanna screaming at the guy.

"Get your disgusting hands off of me!"

Castiel ducked under the bleachers and saw Mr. Touchy pushing Deanna against a wall, holding her by her wrists, and grinding into her. Cas growled and lunged at the guy, throwing him off of her. The guy looked surprised, so Cas punched him.

"Don't ever touch her! Ever!"

The guy brushed Castiel off. "I was just trying to get her to, uh, ya know..."

"Yeah, I know what you were trying at," Cas said, pushing him in the chest. "And I don't like it. Scram, you little punk."

They guy put his hands up and backed away, leaving the hiding place under the bleachers. Cas softened his expression and looked over at Deanna. She was very pale, and her green eyes were very wide. Her bandana that was usually around her head was very disheveled and she was shaking a bit. Cas walked over to her, and went against putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He said softly.

"If i-it weren't for you, Cas..."

"I know. But I'm here, Deanna."

She looked at him, and suddenly wrapped him in a tight hug. She was about a head shorter than him, so her head rested against his chest. Small teardrops rolled down her cheeks, just a few. Castiel swallowed, not knowing what to do. He finally decided to hug her and rubbed her back. Composing herself, Deanna pulled away.

"We don't talk about this ever again. Kapeish?"

Cas smiled. "Yes."

"Cool...so does this mean we're like..friends?"

He laughed. "Yes, Deanna. We're friends."

"Good. Can we get outta here? It's awful stuffy..."

He nodded and led her out. They stepped into the fresh air.

"What's the time?"

"It's 6."

"Oh, shit! I gotta go get Sam from his friend's house!" She said, smacking her forehead. "I came to apologize, but since we're cool now..."

Cas nodded. "Tell your brother I said hi."

She smiled. "I will." She turned around and started walking away, stopped, and then came back. She looked at Cas for a moment and then gave him a quick peck on the cheek. A rushed "Thank you," and she was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

"Castiel!" Michael called from the driveway.

"What?" Cas replied from his window.

"While I'm at practice, I want you to take my car to the repairs shop."

"What? Why?"

"Because I said so. Just tell them it's for me!"

Castiel sighed as he heard his brother get in the car with his friend. How is it this was how he always spent his Saturdays? Doing favors for his siblings? He was going to invite Deanna over... Oh well. She was probably working, or taking care of Sam. Although Sam would be welcome to come over too... He sighed again. None of that was changing the fact that Michael asked him for another chore. He dragged himself down the hall and took his brother's keys from the kitchen table, going outside and getting in Michael's T-Bird. Their father had gotten him the latest model, the 1956. It had only come out a year ago, and Michael was already complaining about it. The wind ruffled through Cas' hair and he drove downtown, turning on the radio. Pat Boone began singing "Love Letters in the Sand," and Castiel immediately turned it back off. He hated that song. He turned into the lot of the mechanic's garage, "Singer's Auto Repair Shop." He shuffled inside and walked up to the desk, taking a double take.

"Meg Masters?" He asked the brunette cashier.

She looked up. "Oh my god, Castiel Novak? What a coincidence!"

"Yeah, it really is. I didn't know you worked here."

"I didn't know you came here." She batted her eyelashes.

"Right. Well, my brother thinks something's up with his car."

"Right. I'll get the mechanic."

She walked off, her kitty heels clicking on the tile floor, and went around into the garage. Cas looked around and picked at his nail until she came back.

"She said she'd meet you out there, by your car."

"Alright," Castiel said. He turned around to walk out the door when Meg called out,"Hope I see you soon, Castiel."

He ran out before she could say anything else. He stood by Michael's car, just staring at it. It looked fine to him. Then again, he knew next to nothing about cars. He was better with books and...homework. He crossed his arms and really looked at the T-Bird, as if that would make him see. It took him by surprise when someone walked out of the garage singing Elvis. He turned around as saw Deanna doing the hand jive, wearing a blue mechanic's suit, black All Stars, and her characteristic red bandanna. She stopped.

"Cas? What the hell? Why are you here?"

"I- my um..my car...Why are YOU here?"

"I work here, stupid. I'm a mechanic."

"You know, when you said you had a job, I was expecting something more...traditional."

"Traditional? Cas, when have you ever known me to be traditional? You really thought I would have a job like Meg's? Typing at the writer, and ringing people up, and flirting with everyone who walks in?"

"Well...no."

"Exactly. So where's your car?"

"Right here." He pointed at the T-Bird.

"What? This is yours?!" She dropped the greasy rag she was holding in surprise. "Holy shit Cas! What is this, like, a '56 T-Bird or somethin'? That's, like, crazy man!"

"It's not actually mine. It's my brother's. Michael."

"Michael Novak?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. He let you drive this over here?"

"What? Did you think I'd crash it?"

"Well...that..or cream it. Or deal it off for some books and records."

"Oh, shut up. Would you just take a look at it?"

"Alright, cool it Clyde." She lifted the hood with a wink and made some "Aha!" Noises. "It needs an oil change." She sauntered towards the garage and yelled, "Back in a flash!"

She came back a moment later with a red can and a car jack. She lifted the car and then turned to Cas.

"I need to heat up the engine. Keys." She put out her hand and Cas handed them to her. She got the car to idle, and then got back out and went into the garage again, returning with a filter, a pan, a flashlight, and a socket wrench. Deanna turned the car off and handed him back the keys.

As she tinkered under the hood, she started talking to Cas. "So, you got plans tonight?"

"No. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to see a flick at the passion pit."

His heart skipped a beat. "Wh- What?"

"Not to play backseat bingo, dumbass! Just 'cause, ya know, we're tight."

Castiel let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Was he..disappointed? "Oh. Right. Well, I don't see why we can't."

"Cool." She took her head out from the hood and patted his cheek. "I'll see you there at my pad, then. Car's done, by the way."

She wiped her forehead with her rag, smearing grease all over her face. Cas stifled a laugh.

"You live on Maple Street, right?"

"Yes, Castiel! Pick me up at 7. In that car!" And then she disappeared into the garage.

Cas drove home with a huge smile on his face.

As he drove to Deanna's house, Castiel honestly couldn't believe he had gotten permission to use Michael's car. It was..MICHAEL. He didn't do nice things for people. Cas shook his head, turning on the radio. He smiled when "Always On My Mind" came on as he pulled up to the Winchester house. He was just getting out of the car when Deanna came running out of the house, wearing some sort of dress and a sweater.

"What's up daddy-o?" She said breathlessly as Cas ran around to open her door.

"Um, not-not much. I didn't know we were supposed to be formal," he said, looking down at his own sweater and Levi's.

"No, no, I just needed to convince my dad I was your Sophie so I could go out."

"Um..okay. So are you excited for the movie?"

"Yeah, big time. I heard 'Funny Face' is pretty good. Not excited to see any of them paper shakers though. But I'm still excited. This is the first flick I've been to since I was 8 years old," she complained as she bent down to tie her shoe. As she did that, the light shined on her arms, revealing black and blue marks on her biceps.

"Hey, what're those?"

"Oh, um...dogs. And, uh, ya know...my brother," she said, rubbing her arm a bit and looking around, almost as if she was nervous.

"Yeah, okay," Cas said, eying her suspiciously.

After that, they got to the drive-in. Everything was pretty uneventful, right up until the last fifteen minutes of the movie. Audrey Hepburn was prancing around with Fred Astaire when Deanna reached over and grabbed Castiel's hand. His head snapped over to look at her, but she kept looking foreword nonchalantly, smiling, and scooted closer to him. His heart pounding in his chest, Cas let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders, going with whatever she was pulling.

"Dee?" He whispered.

"What?"

"What are we doing?"

She looked up at him and smiled.

"I think we're on a date."

"Good."


	6. Chapter 6

As Castiel drove Deanna back to her house, he was still processing what had happened back at the drive-in. No, scratch that. He was still processing the last two months. He smirked as he remembered that first day back in February when Deanna Winchester came crashing into his life. Twenty-three minutes late, of course. And the picture of him he still had hanging up on his wall. Who knew so much could happen in two months?

Then a thought occurred to him. He asked, "Deanna, I appreciate your affection, and I do reciprocate it, but I thought you-I thought your...sexual orientation...was different?"

She chuckled, propping her feet up on the dash. "Don't believe all the rumors you hear going around Trumple High, Cas. That whole thing started with Hester. She just likes to light up the tilt sign, that's all. And besides, she was the one who made a move on me."

"She what?"

"Oh, yeah. We used to be good friends, believe it or not. We used to live in the same town, over in California. Guess we both ended up here. But anyway, we were on the sofa over at her pad, just a couple of slodges hanging around. And so she put a record on, and went to sit next to me, but rather than just sitting down, she planted one on me! And then when I denied her, that shuck decided to tell the story like /I/ was the one who tried to kiss /her/. And since she was queen, everyone believed her. "

Castiel parked the car in front of the house and looked at her. "So she's been making up lies about you ever since you two both lived in California?"

"Three years of this, Clyde. Three years."

"That sounds awful."

"You're telling me. Well, anyway Cas, thanks for the date. We're gonna be able to do this again sometime, right?"

He smirked. "If you want."

"Do you?"

"I would like that."

"Yeah, me too."

She smiled as she got out of the car and went around to his window. He rolled in down and she tossed a piece of fabric into his lap. Her scarf.

"A mirror-warmer, Cas. Just so everyone knows."

And then, with a smirk, she turned on her heel and scampered into her house, leaving Cas to sit, bewildered, in the car.

Things only got more interesting from there. They kind of just came out and told people on Monday when Deanna led him in the front doors of the school, gripping his hand. And when she kissed him on the cheek before driving her dad's 1955 Chrysler Imperial to work. And of course, everyone in the parking lot gaped. But Cas didn't really care.

At least, not until he saw Hester glaring at him from across the lot. He raised an eyebrow and she turned on her heel to walk away with her possy. But he shrugged and jogged over to Gabriel, who was waiting for him.

And everything was good and normal for about a week. And then came the next Saturday.

Cas sat on the chair next to the fireplace, reading a book. In Kansas, April was still pretty cold, so the fire was warming him up through his sweater. He was just turning the page when the doorbell rang.

Castiel sighed. He was the only one home, so he grunted as he got up to see who was at the door at 11:30 at night.

He opened the door to find a shivering, teary-eyed Deanna Winchester on the front porch.

"What's wrong?" Cas asked urgently.

"I...can I come in?"

"Y-yeah, sure."

She toed off her boots at the front door and padded over to the fireplace in her socks, still shivering a little bit. She sniffled.

"Cas...I don't know if I can go home tonight."

"Why not?"

She gritted her teeth, eyes still watery. "Hester."

"What?"

"That bitch thinks she can go around spreading rumours because she's radioactive...Cas, I...I really wouldn't have bothered you except that it's about you too."

Sniffle.

"Cas, Hester is...she told everyone I've got your bun in the oven."

"WHAT?"

"And news travels fast, so my dad heard. He was trying to hurt Sam because of it. He...he punched me, Cas."

For the first time, Castiel noticed a purplish mark on her jawline.

"So I walked over to my Uncle Bobby's with Sammy, dropped him off there with my Aunt Ellen, took one of the cars from the shop, and came here."

Cas was silent. "Your dad believed the rumors?"

She laughed bitterly. "Cas, if you haven't noticed, my dad is the old drunk of the town. He's believe if you told him the sky was green. And he doesn't think too highly of me."

"So why'd he try to hurt Sam?"

"You listening, Clyde? Town drunk."

There was a little pause. Cas said,"Are you okay? Overall, I mean."

"Well um...my dad...he kicked me out."


	7. Chapter 7

Cas thought that over. "Then stay here."

"Yeah, Cas, that's a big tickle.."

"Why not?"

"'Cause I don't wanna bug you and your family. 'Sides, we don't need people thinking we're circled too."

"You wouldn't bother at all. We have more room than we need. Just stay here until your dad calls you back or you go to your Aunt and Uncle's. I don't mind. And if my siblings do, they'll have to go through me."

Deanna gave him a little half smile. "I can't just throw myself on you."

"I insist."

"You'd be getting Sam too. Ellen and Bobby are going on vacation in two days."

"I happen to like your brother."

She sighed. "Okay. Whatever. But I'm buying supper as long as I'm here, got it?"

Castiel chuckled. "Okay. I'll show you your room, then."

They both got up and walked down the spacious hallway down to the last room on the right.

"You'll have to share with me. There's two beds in there anyway."

A smile grew on Deanna's face. "Thanks, Cas. Gosh, you live in a mansion."

"Not really."

"This is the nicest house I've ever been in..."

Castiel's heart sank. His house wasn't that large. It was an average suburbs home for South Dakota. One story, three bedrooms. Typical. And it was the nicest house Deanna had ever been in.

"Thank you. If you want to go in, I'll, um...I'll go get you one of Anna's night dresses."

Castiel turned around and walked back to his sister's room, knocking on her closed door.

"Come in," Anna said from the inside.

Castiel opened the door as Anna was hanging up her phone.

"What's up, Cas? Who was at the door earlier?"

"Deanna Winchester."

"Really?" Anna looked in the direction of the door as if Deanna would walk in any moment.

"Yeah. She's having home problems and needs to stay here for a couple days with her brother. I was wondering if she could borrow one of your nightgowns?"

"Um...okay."

Anna got off the bed and slowly moved to the dresser, digging in it. She finally pulled out a ratty, old yellow nightgown.

"Anna."

"What?"

"You can't lend her that."

"Why not? It works."

"It's damaged."

"Well I don't want my good ones to get ruined!"

"Anna. Her presence is not going to ruin a nightgown. And I would appreciate it if you stopped talking down on her. That's my girlfriend."

Anna sighed. "I'm sorry, Cas. Maybe if I could talk to her?"

"Come on. She's in my room."

Anna grinned and followed him down the hall. When they walked into Castiel's room, Deanna was looking through his records.

"Dee? My sister wanted to meet you."

Deanna looked up at the redhead. "You're Anna?"

"Um..yes. And you're Deanna?"

The Winchester nodded. "Cas says wonderful things about you."

Anna smiled. "You too."

Dee glanced at Cas. "You're brother's pretty cool."

"Thanks. I'll go get you a sleep dress and be right back."

She vanished from the doorway and Deanna smiled at her boyfriend. "She's nice."

"Yes. She's the typical annoying little sibling some of the time, but for the most part, she's great."

"So, you have an awful lot of Elvis."

Castiel smiled at the floor. "Yeah. He sings about nice things, you know?"

"I know. You should put something on."

He got up, moved the needle and then played the music. Elvis' "I Love You Because" came pouring out of the speaker.

Cas looked down sheepishly. "I was listening to this earlier. It...it made me think of you."

Elvis began to sing, then.

"I love you because you understand dear

Every single thing I try to do.

You're always there to lend a helping hand, dear.

I love you most of all because you're you.

No matter what the world may say about me,

I know your love will always see me through.

I love you for the way you never doubt me.

But most of all I love you 'cause you're you.

I love you because, because my heart is ligther

honey everytime, everytime I'm walking by your side

and I love you, yes I love you because the future is a little bit brighter

and the door, the door of my happiness, you open wide

No matter what may be the style or season,

I know your heart will always be true.

I love you for a hundred thousand reasons,

But most of all I love you 'cause you're you."

Cas looked over at Deanna, whose eyes were a bit dewy.

"Cas...that's-"

"I found one!" Anna said, walking into Castiel's bedroom.

He smacked his forehead.

Siblings.

When Cas walked into school the next day, the space around his locker grew silent. He could feel everyone staring at him. And then James walked up.

"Nice job, Novak. Knocked up the closet case."

"It's not true."

"Sure it is. Look at her, she's getting fatter by the day!"

His cronies laughed behind him.

"And how's the shiner she gave you healing?"

"Just as well as the one her dad gave her."

That was the last straw. Castiel lunged at him, pushing him up to the lockers as he had done so many times to Cas.

"Don't talk about things you don't know about, James. You know nothing about Deanna. NOTHING. You don't know her, you don't know her family, and you don't know me. So you cool it. Asshole."

Cas let him hold his own weight and then turned to face The rest of the hall.

"Anyone else?"

"It's adorable, how this germ thinks he can stand up for that piece of trash homosexual he knocked up," Hester hissed from the sidelines, a condescending smirk on her face.

"Funny. You run your mouth about me and the people I care about, but you can't even come out to your peers about all of your lesbian endeavors back in California."

Hester's eyes grew wide and the smirk dropped.

"That's right. I know all about that. So I suggest you stop lying to people before I let that one drop all over this school."

And with that, Castiel picked up his book bag, closed his locker, and headed to class.

Funnily enough, the pregnancy rumor was dispersed by the end of second period.


	8. Chapter 8

The day after Hester told everyone she was lying, Deanna's dad called to let her back home, and despite Cas' protests, she complied.

And a week after that, prom talk started at Trumple High.

Deanna was driving Cas home when he asked, "What are your thoughts on prom?"

"I don't really wanna go. I'm not a good dancer."

"Oh. Well do you care if I go? I think Mike would skin me if I didn't."

"Nah, go ahead. Just don't dance with any paper shakers, alright?"

"No way."

Deanna smiled and kissed him on the cheek as they pulled up to the Novak household.

"See you tomorrow," Cas said, shutting the car door.

"See ya tomorrow, Clyde," Deanna responded, pulling away.

Oh, what a day tomorrow would be.

Deanna walked up to Castiel's locker with creased brows just as Meg Masters was walking away.

"Meg Masters?" The mechanic asked. "I thought I advised you *not* to talk to any of the queens, ya bundie."

Castiel rolled his eyes. "She isn't that popular, Deanna."

"They're all the same to me. If she was talking to you, she probably wanted more than a conversation. Meg Masters is almost as bad as Hester in my book."

Cas' eyes grew wide as plates and he bit his lower lip, running a hand through his already unruly hair.

Deanna narrowed her green eyes into slits. "What did you do?"

"Uh-well...she asked me!"

The Winchester's mouth fell open. "Are you taking Meg Masters to PROM?"

Cas swallowed. "Yes."

Dee pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes again. "Two can play at that game. Asshole."

And then she pushed past him to make her way to homeroom.

Castiel didn't see her for the rest of the day. She didn't sit with him at lunch like usual. She didn't show up to History (well, that much was normal). She wasn't in the halls. Which left Cas nervous all day.

Until he saw her outside after school next to Nick Munroe's car, batting her eyelashes and laughing at something he had just said.

No, Cas wasn't nervous. He was fuming. He stormed over to the car, crossing his book bag over his chest in a rage.

"Deanna? What the hell are you doing?" He asked once he got over to Nick's '55 Bel Air.

They both looked at him, the pair chewing on gum. Castiel hated gum.

"Discussing this cool bent eight eight my prom date. Why? Is there a problem?" Deanna answered with an innocent look on her face.

Cas exhaled sharply. "Not at all."

And then he walked back to the office, another one of her giggles chasing him away. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings, after all. He did it accidentally, but she was messing with him on purpose. How that was fair beat him.

Three hours later, when Michael's football practice was over, even he noticed something was up.

"You okay, Castiel?" The jock asked his little brother.

"My girlfriend is overreacting to something that isn't my fault."

"Oh, you mean how Nick is taking her to prom?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Luke helped Nick ask. It was all Luke's idea, actually."

Cas' heart stopped momentarily. "You mean our brother did this?"

"Yeah. He's been screwing with people a lot lately, Castiel. I wouldn't let it get to you."

When Cas and Michael got home, Castiel raced down the hall,tossed his book bag into his room and went into Mike's, Gabe's, and Luke's room. The blonde was sitting on his bed, reading a book. He didn't even look up when Cas came in.

"Hello Castiel."

"You assbutt."

That made Luke look up, confused. "Was that supposed to be an insult, little brother?"

"What did you do?"

"I'm going to suppose you're talking about Nick and your little girlfriend, since that's the only thing that should concern you. Well you see, ya little nosebleed, your Sophie came to me asking about how to get back at a girl she thinks has demonic tendencies. I heard that girl is affiliated with you now, and I decided to just get you instead. It seemed more...malicious."

Castiel simply shook his head and slammed the door.

The next day, as Michael and Castiel walked up the steps to Trumple High, things really got ugly.

Michael's girlfriend, Rachel, walked up to them.

"I need to speak to Mike. Alone," she demanded, pulling him off to the side.

So Castiel waited, reading a book, until his brother came back over to him, a look up pure rage plastered on his face.

"Luke is about to get a knuckle sandwich."

As Cas later found out (from Victor Henriksen, of all people), Luke told Rachel that Mike was fooling around so Rachel would break up with Mike. Making Michael mad was never good news.

And if that wasn't enough, Anna was rushing around their house talking about prom dresses, and Gabriel, being the messenger of the family, told everyone over Thursday's dinner that Dad was coming for a visit, to celebrate Gabe, Luke, and Michael graduating.

Castiel Novak was hopelessly, terribly, unnaturally stressed.


	9. Chapter 9

Castiel sighed, fixing his tie. He sat outside Meg's house in a '56 Ford Customline the neighbor, Mrs. Mills, had let him borrow. He was stalling, and he knew it. But, fact was, the mirror was missing Deanna's scarf and Castiel couldn't hear her wit coming from the passenger's seat. This wasn't going to be the same without her.

He opened the door and got out of the car, picking up the white corsage he had gotten for Meg and walked up the steps to her house. Her mother opened the door, and the next half hour was spent with Castiel pretending to smile for pictures and being overly nice to her parents. They were finally rushed out the door, and Meg turned to him and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, Clarence. My keepers are so….Mickey Mouse," she complained.

He furrowed his brow and squinted. "My name is Castiel."

"I know. Now let's cop a breeze," Meg told him with a smile, grabbing his hand and pulling a still confused Castiel to the car.

He went around to the other side and opened the door for her before getting in his own side and driving away. It was easy for him to concentrate on the road, because Meg just talked, without stopping for a reply from her date, the whole way to Trumple. Cas tried listening, really. But after a five minute explanation of her Uncle Crowley's wedding, it all began to meld together. He was already counting down the minutes to the end of the night, and they were only just pulling up to the school. Meg kept talking though, not even glancing at the school parking lot they were in. She seemed very enthusiastic about her story, however, so Cas didn't alert her to their arrival.

"…so she sneaks the due backs into the flick, and—are we already here?"

"Um…yes. We've-we've been here for just over five minutes."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't want to interrupt you."

Meg smirked at him. "Aw, Clarence. Always the gentleman."

She leaned at him very quickly and kissed him. "For being sweet," she said, and then she got out of the car.

Castiel blinked a few times before coming back to his senses and getting out of the car too. She took his arm and they walked to Trumple's gym, handing in their tickets and seeing that prom had already started, the band playing Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up," and their peers doing variations of the Jitterbug and the Swing all across the floor.

Cas, of course, spotted Nick and Deanna immediately.

She was wearing a dark green dress, that didn't have straps on it, but did have a silver ring in the middle of the chest. Her hair was obviously styled, and she had make up on. Her black kitty heels were clicking on the hard gym floor as she and Nick danced in the square they had carved out for themselves.

Cas didn't even realize he was staring until Meg asked, "Hey, Clarence, are you okay?"

He looked down at her. "Um..yes. Thank you Meg. Would you like to dance?"

She smiled. "Sure."

He took her hand and led her to the dance floor, where they danced to the band's cover of "In the Still of the Night," by the Five Satins. They made the rounds with a few more songs, but Castiel wasn't paying much attention. He kept looking over at Deanna and Nick, wondering if she was actually having a good time. She had said she hadn't wanted to go to prom, and yet there she was, laughing and dancing with Nick Munroe. He would've gladly taken her, she was the one who said he could go with someone else. Why was she taking it out on Cas? Why was she even here? She was so-

"Cas? This is a Jitterbug song," Meg pointed out to him, interrupting his thoughts. His hands were still on her waist, as "Hound Dog," was playing.

"Oh, right, I'm-I'm sorry, I just-"

"Cas…just go bash ears with her. It's okay. Honest. You don't seem like you're having a blast anyway."

Castiel sighed. "I'm so sorry. You deserve to have a better prom than this."

She smiled. "Don't worry about it, Clarence. Go find your Sophie."

"Thank you so much Meg."

Cas looked in the direction of where Nick and Deanna had been dancing and…they were nowhere to be found. He scanned the gym, looking for them, but saw no sign. They weren't at the punch bowl, or any of the chairs. He was starting to get worried until he looked outside and saw Deanna sitting on the stairs alone, her shoes next to her, smoking a cigarette.

"Deanna?"

She looked back at him, blowing a puff of smoke in his direction. "What do you want?"

"Why are you alone out here?"

"'Cause I caught Nick making out with Bela Talbot by the punch bowl."

"I'm sorry," Cas said, coming to sit next to her.

She threw her cigarette out into the street. "You know, Clyde, I've been here for eight months and you're the only person that's actually been nice to me. Everyone else has just been awful, Cas. Just awful. And I don't think I've done anything wrong. But you were always there, and you're the best friend I've ever had, Cas. It's like…it's like you only hung around cool kids, but you made an exception for me."

"You're exceptional."

Deanna looked at him, her green eyes big and watery. "You mean it?"

"Always."

She gave him a small smile, and then said softly, "I'm sorry for telling you I didn't want to go to prom. I like to put on this bit that I'm mysterious and all, but really, I'm just like everyone else. I really wanted to come to my junior prom with Castiel Novak on the inside, but on the outside I acted like I didn't care, I guess. You know?"

"I understand."

"Thank you….Cas, I need to tell you something."

"Yes?"

"I'm…I'm leaving next week."

"Leaving? Leaving where?"

"Leaving Sioux Falls, Cas. My Dad moves us around a lot. Always has, since my mom died. This is the longest we've ever stayed somewhere. He says we'll be gone by Tuesday."

"W-when are you coming back?"

"Last time I was here was to see my aunt and uncle when I was three."

"Fourteen years? But…I'll be gone by then.."

"I know. And I have to spend the rest of my week helping to pack up our things. So.."

"So this is probably the last time I'm ever going to see you."

Deanna nodded. They sat in silence for a moment.

"If you wanted to kiss me goodbye, Clyde, you could."

And so he did.

Deanna was telling the truth, as Castiel found the next day when he came in for his last day of school. He thought about driving to Singer's Auto Repair, but he couldn't stand to see Meg Masters. So he sat around his house, listening to records and reading. Tuesday came and went.

Cas didn't see Deanna Winchester in Sioux Falls ever again.


	10. Epilogue

FEBRUARY OF 1960

University of California, Berkley

Castiel Novak sat in his English Composition class, Professor Zachariah droning on about proper punctuation. Cas sighed, rummaging through his bag to find his book. His hand, however, grabbed the pink square of satin that he had kept, from all those years ago. He was lost in thought when someone came in through the back of the door and whispered something to Professor Zachariah.

"Mr. Novak?" he asked, making Cas jump.

"Yes, sir?"

"Someone would like to speak to you outside, they say it's very important."

"Alright."

He got out of his seat and the secretary who had interrupted class led him out the doors.

"She's waiting in Barnes Hall."

"…okay."

Cas was very confused as he walked towards Barnes Hall. Who would come to visit him at school? Anna went to Stanford, and he hadn't exactly spoken to any of his friends from high school since about junior year. He only had one female friend here in college, Pamela Barnes, and she wasback in E Comp. There weren't any "she's" to come visit. The only person he saw standing in Barnes Hall was a girl with a blonde bob, wearing a red dress. He didn't know any blondes.

Until she turned around.

"Hey Clyde," Deanna asked. "How's college?"


End file.
